WASHINGTON (AP) — In an election-year pitch to middle-class voters, President Barack Obama is denouncing a House Republican budget plan as a "Trojan horse," warning that it represents "an attempt to impose a radical vision on our country" that would hurt working families.

Obama, in a speech to newspaper executives, is sharply criticizing a $3.5 trillion budget proposal by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., which passed on a near-party-line vote last week and has been embraced by GOP presidential hopefuls. The plan has faced fierce resistance from Democrats, who say it would gut Medicare, slash taxes for the wealthy and lead to deep cuts to crucial programs such as aid to college students and highway and rail projects.

"It's a Trojan horse. Disguised as deficit reduction plan, it's really an attempt to impose a radical vision on our country," Obama said in excerpts of his speech released Tuesday. "It's nothing but thinly veiled social Darwinism."

Obama's message comes as Republican Mitt Romney looks to solidify his grip on his party's presidential nomination in primary contests Tuesday in Wisconsin, Maryland and Washington, D.C. The White House has appeared increasingly focused on Romney, with Obama's campaign criticizing the former Massachusetts governor by name in a new ad as the president's team seeks to frame the election as a referendum on the economic security of middle-class voters.

Andrea Saul, a Romney campaign spokeswoman, said if Obama wants to assign blame for the country's debt and deficits, "he should look no further than his own budget blueprints. After piling on trillions of dollars in new debt in his first three years in office, the last thing President Obama is qualified to lecture on is responsible federal spending."

White House advisers billed Obama's speech — to be delivered during The Associated Press luncheon of editors and publishers — as an important marker for the president as he seeks re-election. Senior administration officials said the address would build upon themes the president delivered in Kansas last fall, in which he called the nation's economic challenges a "make-or-break moment" for the middle class, and in his State of the Union address, in which he laid out his election-year agenda.

Ryan's proposal aims to slash the deficit and the size of government while offering sharply lower tax rates in return for eliminating many popular tax breaks. Romney and his Republican presidential rivals have said they would support Ryan's budget plan, which has little chance of passing the Democratic-controlled Senate but lays out the GOP's fiscal priorities.

Obama was making the case that whoever wins the White House will face an economy still recovering from the "worst economic calamity since the Great Depression" and many Americans will still be looking for jobs and lacking financial security. By next year, "a debt that has grown over the last decade, primarily as a result of two wars, two massive tax cuts and an unprecedented financial crisis, will have to be paid down," Obama says in the prepared remarks.

He argues that Ryan's budget plan would stall the economic recovery. "By gutting the very things we need to grow an economy that's built to last — education and training, research and development — it's a prescription for decline," he says.

On taxes, Obama is also expected to call for economic fairness encapsulated by the "Buffett Rule," arguing that the wealthy shouldn't pay a smaller share of their income in federal taxes than middle-class taxpayers. Many wealthy taxpayers earn investment income, which is taxed at 15 percent, and Obama has proposed that people earning at least $1 million annually — whether in salary or investments — should pay at least 30 percent of their income in taxes.

Obama planned to note that "broad-based prosperity has never trickled-down from the success of a wealthy few. It has always come from the success of a strong and growing middle class."

Republicans have said the new tax would push investors into sending money overseas where it would be taxed less. Separately, Congress' Joint Committee on Taxation has estimated that if enacted, legislation reflecting Obama's proposal would collect $47 billion through 2022 — a small amount compared with the $7 trillion in federal budget deficits projected during that period.

The focus on tax reform has brought attention to the effective tax rate of Romney, a millionaire who is paying 15.4 percent in federal taxes for 2011 on income mostly derived from investments. The top nominal rate for taxpayers with high incomes derived from wages, not including investments, is 35 percent.

In advance of Obama's speech, political adviser David Axelrod charged that Romney is "just in a time warp," saying the former Massachusetts governor "seems to look at the world through the rear-view mirror." He said Romney subscribes to a Cold War-era belief that Russia is America's greatest foe in the world and would return the country to outmoded economic policies that led to the near economic meltdown in the fall of 2008."I think he must watch Mad Men and think it's the evening news," Axelrod said in an appearance on "CBS This Morning." He said that Romney "wants to go back to the same policies that got us into this disaster."

Obama was speaking at a luncheon of 900 editors and publishers following The Associated Press' annual meeting. William Dean Singleton, outgoing chairman of the AP Board of Directors and chairman of MediaNews Group Inc., was to pose questions to Obama following the president's remarks.

I really, REALLY, like Ryan's proposal. I hope the rest of the Nation is 1) smart enough to get it, and 2) strong enough to give up their entitlements to achieve it.

I love how Obama fails to address the fact that even AFTER ending the war in Iraq he STILL outspent Bush by hundreds of billions of dollars. That had nothing to do with the National Debt?

Why do Democrats address real policy challenges with snide jokes instead of real alternatives? I suggest, it's because they can't, and they have no real answers.

April 3rd, 2012, 3:48 pm

Pablo

RIP Killer

Joined: August 6th, 2004, 9:21 amPosts: 9589Location: Dallas

Re: Obama denounces 'radical' Republican budget plan

Sounds to me like Obama is starting to position himself for the re-election run right about now. Problem is WJB, the vast majority of voters are stupid and will fall for the shallow sound bites. They won't dig below the surface and on the surface Obama's bites are going to sound much better than the GOPs.

He's the National version of New Orleans' Mayor. "I'm going to make sure that all who want it will have their million dollar house with a hot tub in the living room." (Paraphrase).

Dependency starts with a D, and Responsibility with an R, could that be a coincidence?

_________________2 Chronicles 10:14, "if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

April 3rd, 2012, 4:38 pm

wjb21ndtown

Re: Obama denounces 'radical' Republican budget plan

Pablo wrote:

Sounds to me like Obama is starting to position himself for the re-election run right about now. Problem is WJB, the vast majority of voters are stupid and will fall for the shallow sound bites. They won't dig below the surface and on the surface Obama's bites are going to sound much better than the GOPs.

That's why I think Newt has to be the man for the Reps to have any chance. He has a way of phrasing things that is unparallelled by his rivals, and garnishes wide spread support that thwarts that of Barry O.

Sounds to me like Obama is starting to position himself for the re-election run right about now. Problem is WJB, the vast majority of voters are stupid and will fall for the shallow sound bites. They won't dig below the surface and on the surface Obama's bites are going to sound much better than the GOPs.

That's why I think Newt has to be the man for the Reps to have any chance. He has a way of phrasing things that is unparallelled by his rivals, and garnishes wide spread support that thwarts that of Barry O.

I think you're dead wrong about this. He doesn't garner wide spread support amongst a cross section of people. He garners wide spread support from conservatives, and mostly male conservatives. He does speak well, but he has such strong negatives that most people who aren't already on the right won't vote for him. That's my impression anyway.

_________________"Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence." - John Adams

“The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it.” - Neil deGrasse Tyson

Sounds to me like Obama is starting to position himself for the re-election run right about now. Problem is WJB, the vast majority of voters are stupid and will fall for the shallow sound bites. They won't dig below the surface and on the surface Obama's bites are going to sound much better than the GOPs.

That's why I think Newt has to be the man for the Reps to have any chance. He has a way of phrasing things that is unparallelled by his rivals, and garnishes wide spread support that thwarts that of Barry O.

I agree, Gingrich is a far better candidate to fight Obama. But it's not going to happen. It's going to be Romney vs Obama. Get used to it.

_________________

April 3rd, 2012, 5:30 pm

wjb21ndtown

Re: Obama denounces 'radical' Republican budget plan

Touchdown Jesus wrote:

wjb21ndtown wrote:

Pablo wrote:

Sounds to me like Obama is starting to position himself for the re-election run right about now. Problem is WJB, the vast majority of voters are stupid and will fall for the shallow sound bites. They won't dig below the surface and on the surface Obama's bites are going to sound much better than the GOPs.

That's why I think Newt has to be the man for the Reps to have any chance. He has a way of phrasing things that is unparallelled by his rivals, and garnishes wide spread support that thwarts that of Barry O.

I think you're dead wrong about this. He doesn't garner wide spread support amongst a cross section of people. He garners wide spread support from conservatives, and mostly male conservatives. He does speak well, but he has such strong negatives that most people who aren't already on the right won't vote for him. That's my impression anyway.

Most of the Nation leans right in today's slide-scale, but he has a way of talking about American Values, Family, etc. that garnishes nation wide support.

Most of the Nation leans right in today's slide-scale, but he has a way of talking about American Values, Family, etc. that garnishes nation wide support.

Where do you see that he has nation wide support? As far as I know all the data shows that he lacks broad support and only has the support of conservative republicans. People on the far right.

Take the latest real clear politics polling data. If you don't know, they take an average of a bunch of polls to try to generate an aggregate poll result. The latest polls of a candidate vs Obama have the following results:

This isn't just the trend currently either. Gingrich has trailed Obama throughout the entire primary process. At one point it got to about even, but no better than that. Nobody has really gotten ahead of Obama in the polling, but Romney has had the best results, showing as slightly higher than him at a few different point.

Regardless, my point is that Gingrich doesn't have broad, wide spread national support. He's only won 2 states in the primaries, and both were Southern, conservative states (1 being his home state). As far as I know, there is just nothing to support this appeal you keep mentioning. Am I missing something?

_________________"Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence." - John Adams

“The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it.” - Neil deGrasse Tyson

Last edited by Touchdown Jesus on April 3rd, 2012, 9:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.

April 3rd, 2012, 8:13 pm

njroar

Player of the Year - Offense

Joined: September 25th, 2007, 3:20 amPosts: 2833

Re: Obama denounces 'radical' Republican budget plan

Obama is doing what he'd done since he was campaigning in '08. He's blaming everyone else's ideas without giving any of his own. His budget plan got ZERO votes. Not a single democrat supported his budget. His speech today was terrible. He was stumbling over his words and contradicting himself left and right. Broken promises and failed policies aren't a recipe for success.

April 3rd, 2012, 8:24 pm

wjb21ndtown

Re: Obama denounces 'radical' Republican budget plan

Touchdown Jesus wrote:

wjb21ndtown wrote:

Most of the Nation leans right in today's slide-scale, but he has a way of talking about American Values, Family, etc. that garnishes nation wide support.

Where do you see that he has nation wide support? As far as I know all the data shows that he lacks broad support and only has the support of conservative republicans. People on the far right.

Take the latest real clear politics polling data. If you don't know, they take an average of a bunch of polls to try to generate an aggregate poll result. The latest polls of a candidate vs Obama have the following results:

This isn't just the trend currently either. Gingrich has trailed Obama throughout the entire primary process. At one point it got to about even, but no better than that. Nobody has really gotten ahead of Obama in the polling, but Romney has had the best results, showing as slightly higher than him at a few different point.

Regardless, my point is that Gingrich doesn't have broad, wide spread national support. He's only won 2 states in the primaries, and both were Southern, conservative states (1 being his home state). As far as I know, there is just nothing to support this appeal you keep mentioning. Am I missing something?

Newt has also gotten shafted by the media, and has had the most negative campaigning done against him as well. Newt is currently disfavored vs Obama more so than other candidates because it hasn't come down to the issues yet. Santorum and Romney STILL really haven't laid out any plan, Newt has and his plan is good. Once Newt debates Obama and it starts coming down to issues and not personalities those numbers will even out.

Again, Newt is the only candidate with a clear message, a plan, and a chance to beat Obama, period.

April 3rd, 2012, 9:19 pm

njroar

Player of the Year - Offense

Joined: September 25th, 2007, 3:20 amPosts: 2833

Re: Obama denounces 'radical' Republican budget plan

Newt has zero chance to get the nominee, especially after tonight.

April 3rd, 2012, 9:21 pm

wjb21ndtown

Re: Obama denounces 'radical' Republican budget plan

njroar wrote:

Newt has zero chance to get the nominee, especially after tonight.

I don't disagree, but without him (or possibly someone like Rubio in a brokered convention) there is zero chance of the Republican winning the WH.

At this point, I think the best case scenario is that an outsider (like Rubio) enters the race at the convention, gets wide spread support, and provides justification for shafting Romney.

April 3rd, 2012, 10:43 pm

njroar

Player of the Year - Offense

Joined: September 25th, 2007, 3:20 amPosts: 2833

Re: Obama denounces 'radical' Republican budget plan

I believe Santorum or someone else would have to win 90% of the remaining primaries to make it a brokered convention, so that's not happening.

And I wouldn't count out Romney head to head vs. Obama. Romney beats Obama on all economic issues, and the biggest issue with Obamacare plays into his hands with the states vs Federal Government argument.

I've said it for over 2 years now, whoever the nominee is will beat Obama. We're still in the primaries and Obama has spent most of what he's raised so far. He's not having as easy a time raising money as many thought he would.

*EDIT*

Ok, correction, Romney only needs to win 40% of remaining delegates and Santorum still needs to win 80% of remaining delegates. In tonight's primaries, voters that were voting for Santorum have started shifting over to Romney, so its just a matter of time until he wraps it up.

April 3rd, 2012, 10:49 pm

wjb21ndtown

Re: Obama denounces 'radical' Republican budget plan

njroar wrote:

I believe Santorum or someone else would have to win 90% of the remaining primaries to make it a brokered convention, so that's not happening.

And I wouldn't count out Romney head to head vs. Obama. Romney beats Obama on all economic issues, and the biggest issue with Obamacare plays into his hands with the states vs Federal Government argument.

I've said it for over 2 years now, whoever the nominee is will beat Obama. We're still in the primaries and Obama has spent most of what he's raised so far. He's not having as easy a time raising money as many thought he would.

*EDIT*

Ok, correction, Romney only needs to win 40% of remaining delegates and Santorum still needs to win 80% of remaining delegates. In tonight's primaries, voters that were voting for Santorum have started shifting over to Romney, so its just a matter of time until he wraps it up.

I would count out Obama V Romney... And the reason is, they're the SAME DAMN PERSON. So little separates Obama from Romney that it's not "worth it" to the general public to make a change. I realize that to you and me there's a world of difference, but between their two messages there isn't a dimes worth of difference, and that's what people will be voting on. Further, some say he has more "personality" than Newt, and some say that he's more "likeable" than Newt, but what they REALLY mean is that he's just less abrasive than Newt. Romney comes across as a total slime ball to most people (including me). He's much LESS likeable than Obama... Romney also FAILS to speak the "Republican message" in clear terms, he gets caught up in petty battles, and he doesn't know how to respond to attacks without looking defensive and wrong, Newt is GREAT at all of those things. Romney is a HORRIBLE candidate, which is why he was hand selected by the media to represent the Republican party.

Most of the Nation leans right in today's slide-scale, but he has a way of talking about American Values, Family, etc. that garnishes nation wide support.

Where do you see that he has nation wide support? As far as I know all the data shows that he lacks broad support and only has the support of conservative republicans. People on the far right.

Take the latest real clear politics polling data. If you don't know, they take an average of a bunch of polls to try to generate an aggregate poll result. The latest polls of a candidate vs Obama have the following results:

This isn't just the trend currently either. Gingrich has trailed Obama throughout the entire primary process. At one point it got to about even, but no better than that. Nobody has really gotten ahead of Obama in the polling, but Romney has had the best results, showing as slightly higher than him at a few different point.

Regardless, my point is that Gingrich doesn't have broad, wide spread national support. He's only won 2 states in the primaries, and both were Southern, conservative states (1 being his home state). As far as I know, there is just nothing to support this appeal you keep mentioning. Am I missing something?

Newt has also gotten shafted by the media

Newt got shafted by Newt (as a result of Newt being a wife shafting hypocrite).